


Dirty Laundry

by JoAsakura



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Inexplicable Moon Gorilla TV Producer, M/M, Newscaster AU, Terrible choices in pizza, workplace pettiness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-28 01:59:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8426293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoAsakura/pseuds/JoAsakura
Summary: A tale as old as time. A burned out war correspondent and a morning TV host on the trail of the same story.Because Gunnslaughter on tumblr had to post a picture of Anderson Cooper as Jack.





	1. Welcome to Prime Time

Winston paced in the darkened booth as he watched Ana stall on-camera. “Goddamnit, Jack, please tell me you’re on-site at the dog show? Ana’s running out of ways to talk about avocado toast!” He hissed into his mobile.

“Yeah, about that.” Jack sounded out of breath. “We are gonna be a _little_ late. I have it on really good authority that Hanzo Shimada’s testimony’s been moved up and I don’t think we can miss out on this!”

“JACK DO NOT BE RUNNING TOWARDS THAT COURTHOUSE.” Winston shouted, knowing full well what the response was going to be.

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU I’M RUNNING TOWARDS THE COURTHOUSE!” Jack shouted back before the line went dead.

There were days he _didn’t_ miss the lunar gorilla colony. This was not one of them.

  
~~

  
“Lucio, we good?” Jack panted as he tried to fix his tie. He was flushed and his white-blond hair was a mess, but he was as ready as he was going to be.

“Winston sounded pretty mad, Jack.” Lucio said, hoisting his camera. “I mean, he might be a gorilla, but he’s still our boss.”

“I know, I know, but THIS is a story and..” Jack started.

“MORRISON!!” A deep voice roared from the nearby steps and Jack froze.

Gabriel Reyes came stalking over to him, black coat flapping in the breeze. The man had been a legend, a staple of every war zone and hot spot across the world, a Pulitzer winner before a disastrous career tailspin had ended him up at Channel 1. “What did I tell you about showing up at my stories? This is News, not your wine-mom Overwatch in the AM nonsense. Don’t you have a dog show to cover?”

Gabriel's camera operator jogged to reach them, her face set in a permanent scowl as she sidled up to Lucio. “Good morning, mon ami.” She wheezed, resettling the camera on her shoulder.

“Amelie.” Lucio sighed as the two men glared at each other. “Standing bet?”

“I have a good feeling about today.” Her frown parted into a sharp grin. “We should keep rolling.”

“Absolutely.”

“Why don’t.. Why don’t you cover a dog show!” Jack sputtered meanwhile, turning red as he stepped further into Gabriel’s personal space. “Or if that’s too challenging, I hear there’s a sale at the Giant. I’m sure you could interview a can of creamed corn more successfully than you did the Mayor last week!”

“Looks to me I’m already talking to one.” Gabriel sniffed, stepping further into Jack’s space, grabbing him by the collar. “You’ve got all the on-camera presence of produce, you chattering little toothpaste commercial.”

Lucio and Amelie both made a sharp noise, and Jack and Gabriel turned as one to see the sleekly-dressed former Yakuza heir being escorted out by a scruffy Marshal. “We’ll finish this later.” Jack said quickly.

“After the story.” Gabriel agreed.

 

~~

 

“The network wants you two to host a news program together.” Winston said in the tone of someone who desperately wanted to return to the vacuum of space. “You have chemistry.”

Behind him the footage of the two reporters and their rapid-fire questioning of the Yakuza heir and the marshal, while all the others were scrambling to the back door, played on silent loop.

“Lots of things have chemistry, Winston.” Jack said, sinking into his seat.

“High explosives. Rat poison.” Gabriel added.

“This is a terrible idea.” Jack finished.

“Welcome to prime time, boys.” Winston laid his head on the desk with a heavy sigh. “God help us all.”


	2. Kick 'em when they're up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first show goes about as expected and Jack gets an unexpected delivery.

“And that’s our stories for tonight. I’m Jack Morrison.”

“And I’m Gabriel Reyes. Join us next week for another edition of One on One.”

“AND CUT!” Winston said from the booth, a lingering, longing glance spared at the bottle of Advil on the control panel.

During the first commercial break, Reyes had almost strangled Jack under the guise of “straightening his tie”. During the next, Jack had adjusted Gabriel’s seat while the other man took a bathroom break and Reyes had spent the entire next segment sitting six inches too short for the desk but refusing to admit there was a problem.

There was a brief beat of blessed silence as the two men took off their mics and for a moment, Winston thought everything might be ok.

Then:

“What was with that purile line of questioning with the Vishkar rep?” Gabriel roared. “My god, if you fawned any harder over him, I would have thought you were trying to suck his dick on camera!”

“It’s called building a rapport! Get them to open up!” Jack shouted back, prodding Gabriel’s chest. “If you hadn’t been so busy making that Omnic cry.. And ok, I didn’t even know they COULD cry… In the first segment, you would have noticed that!”

“Listen Ken doll, I won a Pulitzer for interviewing tough nuts like that Mondatta fellow while you were still covering hog reports and community college flag football.” Gabriel prodded him right back, baring his teeth in a distinctly unfriendly grin. “Don’t you tell me…”

Jack made a noise of nearly incandescent frustration, fists balling at his side. “You can take that Pulitzer and shove it up your ass, providing there’s still room up in there with the enormous fucking stick!” He sputtered, turning on his heel, hands flying up in an aggrieved flail.

Gabriel watched him retreat then turned on the staring crew with nearly the same strangled sound. “ARGH!!!!”

In the booth, Winston wondered if NASA would just strap him to a rocket and send him back to the moon if he asked nicely enough.

~~

Jack sat in his car, face covered with his suit jacket as he screamed into the fabric for several minutes, his thoughts a jumble.

On the one hand: Fuck Gabriel Reyes. Fuck him right where he breathes.

On the other: He smells amazing. What the fuck is that? Cologne? Aftershave? Does he just smell that good?

The latter thought went straight to his groin while he continued his litany of cursing on the former, until a tap on the window sent him flailing fast enough to whack his head on the steering wheel.  
 After the panic and the honking died down he found himself staring at Ana. Slowly, he rolled the window down. “….Can I help you?”

“Look, I don’t know if this is primal scream therapy or some wierd masturbatory foreplay, Jack, and I don’t actually care.” She said, leaning in the open window. “You ok?”

“No.” Jack sulked.

“That’s good, I need your help.” She continued.

“With what? Don’t you have a date with Reinhardt tonight?” Jack fixed himself as best he could and rubbed his face.

“I do, and I need you to babysit Fareeha.” Ana grinned.

“Ana, your daughter is almost twenty-one years old.” Jack scowled back at her.

“She’s being sneaky lately. She came with me today, and as much as I’m hoping this is her finally getting out of the hating mom phase, I’m no fool. She’s up to something and I don’t want my daughter dead in a ditch somewhere.” Ana sighed. “So I want a responsible adult to keep an eye on her tonight. Barring that, you.”

“Golly. Thanks.” Jack swatted at her as she poked him in the face. “Fine. I’ll babysit your grown daughter.”

“That’s my boy. Now I have to jet. The lion is definitely not sleeping tonight.” Ana waved at him as she beat her retreat. “Order some pizzas, I’ll pay you back!”

~~

Jack changed in the station's communal locker-slash-dressing room and found Fareeha wandering the halls, clutching a piece of paper.

"Jack, where's my mom? I rode in with her today and I need.." She started before Jack held up a hand.

"She's off to re-enact a viagra commercial with Reinhardt." Jack said, pausing long enough to savour the comically distressed face the younger woman wore. "And I'm babysitting you tonight."

"Oh come ON." She waved the paper at him. "Jack, I'm not a CHILD. I am a grown woman with a date tonight and.."

"Your mother said you're acting sketchy and she's worried about you." Jack folded his arms. "I'm guessing she doesn't know about your date."

"Fareeha!" A chirpy voice ran down the corridor. "I will see you at 9!" And both Jack and Fareeha turned to see the pretty blonde in her white dress.

"OH MY GOD YOUR DATE IS WITH A MEDICAL MOMENT WITH MERCY." Jack wheezed.

"Her name is Angela, Jack." She retorted, giving the doctor a little wave while her brown skin flushed dark with embarrassment. "Can you keep it down?"

"Far, you haven't come out to your mom yet, have you." Jack asked, softer.

"She's always got a friend's cousin back in Egypt who has a son my age I just have to meet." Fareeha sighed. "I just don't want to disappoint her."

Jack hugged her tight. "Look, I've known your mother for a long time. Two things. One: She could never be disappointed in you. She loves you more than anything in the world. You come out to her, she's just going to find a friend's cousin who has a daughter your age." Jack grinned as she laughed against his shoulder. "And two, she will absolutely gut me like a fish and hang me with my own entrails if I don't stay with you tonight."

"UGH. JACK." Fareeha pushed away and gave him a pointed look.

"I'm not gonna lie. Your mother is the scariest person I know. Tell you what, invite Mercy.."

"ANGELA."

"Angela over and we'll order some pizzas. You two can Netflix and chill or whatever it is you do, and I will hide out somwhere else. I have crap to do anyways. I swear I will stay out of your bachelor pad of a basement." He held up his hands. "If you're not gonna do this for yourself, think of my entrails. I need them on the inside."

She gave him a long look, then laughed. "Fine. But do not ruin this for me, Jack."

"Scouts honour." He paused, looking at the paper in her hand. "What's that, anyways?"

"Oh." She held it up, a scrawl of a name across it. "Mister Reyes gave me his autograph. He's actually pretty cool. He was really nice."

"You never ask for my autograph." Jack sniffed.

"I've seen you dressed up like a teletubby. It doesn't have the same gravitas after that." Fareeha gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Well, I'm glad he's nice to someone at least." Jack muttered as he grabbed his coat.

~~

In Ana's impeccable kitchen (Impeccable because Jack was fairly certain she didn't use anything but the microwave and the ice maker on the fridge), Jack sat hunched over his laptop. The deal with Winston had been clear. He kept doing mornings with Ana, Gabriel stayed senior correspondent for the evening news, and the two of them would do their new show once a week.

The next morning's taping schedule had a woman who claimed to be a time-traveling psychic, a climate scientist and a segment on the dog show he'd so spectacularly failed to cover. Then there were the stories to pitch for the newsmagazine - Viskhar's gentrification projects, a possible travel piece on Numbani.

Jack rubbed his eyes just as the doorbell rang and he peeled himself off the stool. "Yeah, no problem, I'll just get the pizza since I know you two won't" he said loudly, padding towards the door.

He opened it and stared for a long moment at the dark, bearded man in a hoodie standing on the steps, holding a stack of pizzas. "Pie." Gabriel Reyes rumbled and Jack promptly slammed the door in his face.

There was a furious banging at the door. "GODDAMNIT MORRISON OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR."

Jack sighed, and opened it again, yanking the pizzas away. "Just tell me, did you murder the delivery guy?"

"What? No, I just paid him down by the street and said I was coming here anyways." Gabriel grouched, not entirely letting go of the boxes. "Look, Amari said she'd murder me if I didn't come over here and apologise for trying to strangle you earlier. I've met some frightening people in my day. She's up there."

"I'm waiting." Jack said, tugging on the pizza boxes.

"...for what?" Gabriel scowled at him.

"The apology." Jack lifted one eyebrow.

"I bought your goddamn pizza, that's all you get." Gabriel finally let go.

Jack's eyebrows flattened and he kicked the door shut in Gabriel's face again, before sitting down in front of it. From the other side he heard a badly-stifled "ARGH!!" Before Gabriel stomped off.

He didn't know what was worse: the fact that his cologne was still going straight to his groin, or, looking at the address on the pizza boxes, Gabriel'd accosted the wrong delivery guy.

"Chemistry." Jack snorted as he shoved a slice of meatball and pineapple pizza into his mouth. "Fuck chemistry."

 


	3. ...Kick 'em When They're Down

“And that’s our stories for tonight. I’m Jack Morrison.”

“And I’m Gabriel Reyes. Join us next week for another edition of One on One.”

“AND CUT!” Winston said from the booth, taking off his glasses and rubbing his face.

Down on the set, Jack prodded his face where a representative of the Daughters of Doomfist had taken a swing at Gabriel and missed, clocking him in the jaw instead. As Winston had hastily cut to a promo for "Doctor Mei's Science Corner", Jack had "accidentally" kneed Gabriel in the crotch during the ensuing donnybrook. Somehow, with a fast reapplication of makeup, the two of them had managed to finish out a segment on climate change (with Mei and a special visit from _Weather with Wilhelm's_ own Reinhardt. This was mainly because the aging weatherman was about the same size as a volkswagen and could block the hole in the set without seeming too conspicuous) without killing each other.

A soft beep caught his attention and he glanced down at his phone,  a text from Lucio lighting up the screen.

_Pool's up to an even hundred. You sure you don't want in, boss?_

Winston sighed. The only thing he wanted to be in was a rocket headed straight into the sun.

 

~~

"Jack, if you two keep this up, one of you is going to be reporting on conditions at the local hospital." Ana said in that very level tone that Jack knew meant she was laughing at him. Outside his window, a siren blared and the old fire escape rattled with the passing traffic.

He sat back on his couch and adjusted the bag of peas with a grunt. "Aw, and here I thought the two of us were getting along so well." 

"Not after that shot to the nuts, Jack. Oh, and you neglected to tell me my daughter was dating a certain blonde doctor." Ana added, and he could hear the blender run in the background.

"Don't be too hard on her, Ana." Jack laughed, then regretted it, feeling the sting in his jaw. "She was scared she'd disappoint you."

"Yeah, and she told me about the pep talk you gave her. Good job. You haven't lost house-visiting privileges." Ana snorted. "Although you completely wasted the setup I gave you. You're ruining my over/under."

"I'm going now, Ana. Stop trying to win that fucking pool at the station." Jack laughed and hung up. He had felt bad about kneeing the other reporter, until he remembered how Reyes had laughed his ass off when the ranting armoured woman had punched Jack in the face. ( _Chemistry_ , my ass.)

 

~~

He was half-watching a rerun of some old adventure show when his phone chimed, and he scowled down at the text.

> [Fareeha]: JACK SOMETHING IS GOING DOWN ON KING'S ROW

_Wait what? RU OK?_

> [Fareeha]: Fine. That omnic that Gabriel made cry is giving some kind of speech in front of the Imperial hotel. You have to get down here, the crowd is huge and I don't see any news crews!!!!

_What the hell are you doing down there_

> [Fareeha]: I was TRYING to have a romantic date, don't make me regret giving you this tip. _  
> _

_You're the best, birdie. Let your mom know. I'll round up the crew._

 

Jack tapped out a text to Winston with one hand as he fished for his keys, not even sure what time space gorillas went to bed. He could almost hear him shouting as the words popped up on his phone.

> [WINSTON] DO NOT LET THOSE BASTARDS FROM WTFT GET THE JUMP ON THIS ONE JACK. I'M GETTING AHOLD OF LUCIO AND AMELIE NOW. GET REYES AND GET ME A STORY

_What_

> [WINSTON] HE'S NOT PICKING UP AND WITHOUT BOTH OF YOU, YOU'RE BACK TO GARDEN SHOWS. GO!
> 
>  

(Son of a bitch.)

 

~~

The brownstone had an overgrown garden in the front and a long-faded Christmas wreath on the door Jack was fairly certain belonged to the previous tenants. "Reyes! Hey!" He knocked on the door, then again, harder. At first, there was dead silence and Jack reached for his phone, ready to text Winston that the asshole wasn't in. But then he froze.

There was a low groaning sound, drifting from the darkened home.

Jack stuffed his phone back in his jeans and rattled the doorknob. "GABRIEL?"

Another beat of silence, another moan.

Jack gritted his teeth and backed up, kicking the heavy old door in with a solid blow. "GABRIEL??" He shouted again, shoving past the busted door and making his way into the narrow entryway.

At first, he thought the place had been robbed, but as soon as he turned on the light, he could see that Gabriel Reyes, Pulitzer prize winning pain in the ass, was just a colossal slob. The man himself lay sprawled on the couch, an underwear-clad debris field in the shape of a human being and Jack stepped over the whiskey bottles and pizza boxes to crouch beside him. "Reyes? Hey? Gabriel?" He shook him lightly and Gabriel muttered reaching out to grab at something in Jack's direction.

"C'mon, blondie. Just a little kiss." Gabriel mumbled into the couch cushion. "I'll even split it with ya." He added with a disturbing giggle.

Jack felt his face heat up, then hauled Gabriel to his feet.

Gabriel was no small person, and Jack struggled to get him semi-moving towards what he hoped was the bathroom, trying hard not to think about whatever freaky fantasy his nemesis was CLEARLY having about Medical Mercy because the alternative was...

 _Nope_.

"You are such a goddamn good smelling pain in the ass I am so sick of you." Jack ranted as he struggled them both into the tiny, tiled room and dumped Gabriel in the shower. "This is your own fault, Reyes. You have left me no choice." He added solemnly, cranking on the cold water.

The icy spray shot down and Gabriel's dark eyes snapped open. In the next moment, he was flailing and he caught Jack's leg, dragging him into the water. Jack cursed as his boot slipped on the smooth surface and he came crashing down onto his erstwhile partner, freezing water pelting them both. They sat like that, for several long moments, Jack sprawled across Gabriel's lap, Gabriel's big hands settled at his waist. 

Jack felt an uncomfortable twitch in his jeans and wondered dumbly for a moment why he'd never noticed the dark flecks of green in Gabriel's eyes before.

"MORRISON." Gabriel rasped, water beading in his black curls. "What the fuck are you doing in my shower?" He blinked owlishly. "What the fuck am **I** doing in my shower?"

Jack pushed away before Gabriel could get more of his bearings. "Winston's been trying to call you, there's something happening downtown and we need to get on it." He said quickly, squishing his way back into the hallway. "I would have expected you to live with a little more class." Jack said, not exactly taking a breath as he found his way into Gabriel's kitchen and took an experimental sniff at the sludge in his coffee pot.

"Yeah, well, you don't know shit about me." Gabriel staggered out of the bathroom, dripping as he fumbled for a pair of pants on a nearby chair. "What's the story?"

"Tekhartha Mondatta's causing a scene in front of the Imperial Hotel. I figured since you made him cry on live TV, you should help me check it out."

"I don't need you for this, Morrison." Gabriel tried to look imposing as a man in nothing but wet underwear could as Jack shoved the coffee pot in front of him. "I'm a Pulitzer.."

"You're a jackass on a bottom-tier news affiliate, just like me, so don't even start." Jack wheeled, trying to wedge his keys out of his soaked jeans.

"And here I thought you were gonna give me some dewy-eyed motivational speech." Gabriel said bitterly as sniffed the pot and winced. Still, he absently followed Jack out of his broken front door, clutching his pants in his free hand. "Y'know, like you gave the Amari girl."

Jack froze and then turned on the front stairs, water still dripping down his burning face. "You want a speech? Ok! Fuck you! Drink your goddamn coffee, put some goddamn pants on and get in the fucking car, Reyes. We got a story to catch!" He shouted, stabbing a finger into Gabriel's chest.

Gabriel blinked and for a second the other man's brown skin flushed as red as Jack felt his own. Then he scowled, clutching his pants a little tighter. "You fucking owe me a new door."

"I thought you were dead. I've never been so sorry to be wrong." Jack muttered, stalking to his car.

 

~~

In the back of Jack's battered old Chevy,  Gabriel struggled to pull on his pants as his partner took a turn at a definitely unsafe speed. "Where the fuck did you learn to drive, Morrison?"

"Aw shucks, just learned it on mah pa's tractor." Jack snarked as he downshifted. "Can you call Lucio and Amelie, let'em know to meet us there?" He threw his phone over his shoulder. "Don't wanna drive unsafe, after all."

Gabriel looked at the phone and frowned. "Hey, did you say he was making a speech in front of the Imperial? But he's all about Vishkar's abuses. Their offices are way uptown, east side. And those monks do all their outreach out on the west side."

"So?" Jack spared him a look in the mirror.

"So, why King's Row? It's all hotels and it's.." Gabriel said, still half-out of his pants. "What if it's not about Vishkar? Before he started crying, he'd mentioned the problem with organised crime in the neighbourhoods."

"The courthouse isn't far from there." Jack said as he slammed on the brakes at a light and he saw Gabriel start to nod, dripping all over his backseat.

"SHIMADA." They both said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
